"My name is..." her voice was heavy, her shoulders wouldn’t stop shaking. The elf paused, trying to catch her breath, but found it difficult.

      "Speak knife ear, or have you suddenly gone mute?" The guard blocking her path mocked her with a drawn voice. He was like a giant casting a looming shadow over her. His chainmail was badly dented underneath rough leather armor. The padded chest plate was covered in scratches, and badly mended scuffs. His shoulder guards were small for his stature, and his boots were coming apart at the seams. 

      "My name is Rain," The elf answered trying to keep her voice steady. She always found it nerve racking when talking to guards. This time was no different. She wore a simple white blouse that barely covered her torso, it was better than the tatters she used to wear. No doubt this thin shirt would fall into tatters someday soon. Her leggings were cotton stitched, and torn underneath the knees.

      “How fitting knife ear?” The guard looked up at the grey skies overhead. A storm was coming.

      Thunder rumbled in the distance, it was an ill omen. The alienage was the only place for elves in the city, in most cities in fact, But rain never fit in here. She found it difficult to fit in anywhere. 

      "I'm half human, so I have every right to leave!" She found some courage making the declaration. She had no idea how it would go. 

      Her human blood was clearly evident when she stood beside other elves. She was taller, broader, and more filled out than the average elf, but next to other humans she looked quit the opposite.

      The guardsman sneered before smacking her cheek. She had half expected it. She thought she was ready to react, but he was too fast for her to dodge in time. Rain collapsed onto the ground, her knees scraped into the dirt. The mud caked earth smelled of rancid filth, making her want to puke. She quickly pulled herself up, her clothes seeped with brown mud. 

      "Who told you to get up!" The guard kicked her down, and proceeded to jab her with the tips of his boots. Rain desperately shielded herself, covering her head with her arms as the guard continued to throw insults at her. “You’re nothing but a knife ear, you always will be! I'll teach you to mind your own place!"

      The guard was agitated, but also clumsy. It wasn’t long before kicks started to grow weak, and his insults more jarring. Once he finally ceased, Rain let her instincts take over. Her mother's training had been burned into her muscles, and etched into her very bones. 

      Rain drew the knife hidden in her boot, and lunged at the guard before he had time to catch his breath. The guard barely dodged, and slipped in the mud. The way he fell was almost comical, as he flailed his arms wide. 

      Watching him fall, Rain knew she didn’t have much time to seize the initiate. She threw herself over him, landing on her thick chest, and drove the edge of her knife against his neck. 

      "Call me knife ear one more time." Her voice was surprisingly calm, she could taste copper in between her teeth as she leaned over him. Looking down at the guards face, her bright blue eyes flared against bolts of lightning. Her short almond hair was matted with dirt, and her smooth narrow face suddenly looked more human than before. There was a ferocity in her jawline that wasn’t typical for elves.

       The guard froze, Rain could see the fear and confusion carving his face. “Please don't kill me!" His pleas were slurred.

      Rain didn't want to actually kill him, but she wasn’t about to let him go. He would suffer for the bruises covering her stomach. Slowly, her hand started to press harder against his bare neck. 

      “I have coin!” The guard’s pleas had grown even more desperate. “I have children to look after.”

      “How many?” Rain’s voice was just as sharp as the dagger.

      “Three!” His answer was quick…too quick to be a lie. 

      “What are there names?” Rain prodded him farther.

      The guard took a second to catch his breath, “Two boys, Jimmy and Marcus. My wife just had girl, her name is Martha.” 

      Rain cursed. Years of being called manling by her neighbors for not being elf enough, and ‘knife-ear’ by humans, had taught her anger. Her mothers training had taught her patience. But having the knife at the guards throat taught her something else. It made her feel powerful. In a way that terrified her, but it also made her reluctant to simply drop the knife.

      The guardsman’s pleas turned into prayers as he wept. 

      Rain tightened her grip around the hilt, she could feel her heart thudding in her breast. And then the world turned into a bright light. The sound of the lightning bolt burst her eardrums, and blinded her eyes. She dropped the knife, and rolled over onto the ground. The stroke of lightning had impacted barely thirty feet away, it was enough to send ripples of static electricity through both their limbs. 

      For several minutes, Rain knelt in the mud as the world slowly returned to her. By that point, she could smell smoke nearby. Her eyes darted to the guard laying in the street. 

      He wasn’t moving.

      Tears burst, Rain sobbed as she buried her forehead into the ground. It took a while before her hearing returned. At first she could barely hear anything, it was as if she were underwater, but eventually she made out the sounds of a woman sobbing. 

      She didn’t realize it was her own voice. 

      Meanwhile, the curse mark that ran down the length of her spine, in between her shoulder blades, burned.